prayers for night and sleep (2018) 15'

text by David Lang

solo soprano, solo cello, 1 perc, strings

Cello Biennale Amsterdam, Amsterdam Sinfonietta

program note

I started this piece by thinking about the prayers that some people may say before going to sleep. Some prayers offer thanks for the day just ended, some offer thanks for the night, and thanks for the day about to begin. Some prayers are gentle, some are about spreading good will and health and happiness throughout the world. Some are just about getting a good night’s sleep. After reading prayers from many cultures and religions it began to feel that behind all these prayers was a universal sense of fear. There are a lot of things that can go wrong for us – we can get hurt, we can be attacked, we can do the wrong thing. During the day we can at least try to protect ourselves, but at night, while we are sleeping, we are vulnerable. We have to trust that something can protect us while we sleep, or no sleep would be possible. So I decided to divide my piece into two sections – ‘night’ is a list of things we may feel and fear about the night, and ‘sleep’ is the prayer that asks if we can be protected from those feelings and fears. I made the text for ‘night’ from how internet search engines complete the sentence “When night falls I…” and I made the text for ‘sleep’ from excerpting several traditional Jewish bedtime prayers.

Libretto

prayers for night and sleep
words by david lang

1. night

when night falls
I can barely see
I can certainly see some people I can enter it
I can feel the dread coming
I can hear
I can hear it in the distance
I can imagine it
I can light up my whole body
I can move
I can put on whatever I like
I can see the flames
I can walk out into the darkness I can watch the stars
I can’t fall asleep
I can’t see anything

I feel ashamed
I feel hungry
I feel life is getting shorter I feel lost
I feel sad and alone
I feel the temptation
I feel uneasy
I feel very much alone

I will be awake
I will be released
I will be with you
I will complete my plan
I will crawl
I will defend
I will figure something out
I will go there
I will lead the attack
I will look up to see the new moon I will seek answers
I will share your company again
I will sneak in
I will tell the stars
I will tell you something
I will wake up

2. sleep

when sleep falls upon my eyes

let me lie down in peace
let me rise up again in peace

no evil dreams no sleep of death

no snare
no sorrow
no terror by night no arrow by day

no thousand at my left
no ten thousand at my right

let me lie down in peace
let me rise up again in peace let me find my better self

when I go out when I come in when I lie down when I rise up

in life
in peace
now and forever by day
by night
when I lie down when I rise up

let me lie down in peace
let me rise up again in peace

at my right hand at my left hand before me behind me above me

rent music score preview